Interview with Filip Djukic

Conquering Academy tells the story of youth players, their story is being told with graphics. In this second edition of Conquering Academy I’m going to interview the Danish Filip Djukic.

Filip Djukic

Position: Goalkeeper

Filip Djukic is a Danish goalkeeper who was born on the 6th of August 1999. The Danish youth international signed for the U15 team of FC Kopenhagen when he came over from Rosenhøj.

The Start

Filip grew up in Hvidovre, close to Copenhagen, around the age of 4 he started playing football. Filip tells that he has always loved football and that his father has had a big role in that. His father also was a huge football fan and always brought Filip to the games of FC Kopenhagen even though he would fall asleep before half-time, the athmosphere at the stadium still made a big impact on him and wanted him to play football himself. He started playing at Rosenhøj Boldklub, after some time, without any expectations or professional guidance their team won everything in Denmark, not even dropping a game.

After this Filip got contacted by F.C København, where he went through some trials to make the team. For Filip F.C København was the most prestigious club, especially because was supporting them since he was little. When Filip got called by his father to tell him he made it into the team he couldn’t believe it. Two of his best friends joined with Filip at the U15 team. Filip told it was an amazing feeling to know they’ve followed each other all the way from the playground to FC Kopenhagen, where we played in the Youth league and won the U17 championship in Denmark.

Youth League

For Filip becoming champions with the U17 team of Kopenhagen was a very special experience. The whole season they went undefeated and personally Filip also had a lot of good games with clean sheets, the team was amazing in both chemistry and performance. But the biggest games and best matches are played on an international level.

In the UEFA youth league his team faced Leicester City, Club Brugge and FC Porto. They almost went out in the group stage but some nice results turned it around and allowed them to proceed to the final 16. Despite the succes Filip learned most from a mistake he made in the game against Leicester City, his red card in the 19th minute made his team go from 0-1 up to losing 3-2. ‘Seeing the team fighting so hard, trying to make up for my mistake tore me up.’ In hindsight he’s thankful it happened, it helped him in my development as a keeper, and changed how he played from then on.

Support

As a young top athlete it’s very important to get enough guidance, on professional level Filip has had a lot of great goalkeeper-coaches who each have influenced him uniquely. The coach he had a special relationship with is Morten Kjærbye. They worked together for 2,5 years, both on and off the field. As they both are “keeper geeks” they study and talk about everything from goalkeeping-style to gloves and other keepers, Filip really appreciates the technical side of goalkeeping and Morten was someone to discuss that with.

At home his family has always supported him. ‘I’ve been very lucky to have immense support from my family, they’ve always supported me and helped in every aspect of my life.’ His parents have dedicated a huge part of their lives to make his career possible, they drive him around for training and matches, make him healthy food so he can keep a clean diet and provide him with the right tools to work with.

Goals and dreams

Ofcourse life isn’t always easy, just like everyone Filip has had some struggles. Physique was an issue for a long time, especially his height. He’s made peace with it and doesn’t see it as a disadvantage but rather a reason to work even harder than everybody else.

To this day, football remains his biggest motivation, and the passion I have for the sport is bigger than anything else. Filip wants to play in the big leagues against the best players and supported by a lot of fans. He’s aware of the workload it requires of him and that’s why he is working hard every day. One of the thing Filip does is studying other goalkeepers; ‘I pay attention to their decision-making, deduction, and movement.’ Casillas and Ter Stegen are his idols. ‘Casillas is so inspiring, both in his play and in how he lives his life. He’s gained much love and respect for his sportsmanship and capabilities.’

‘Everything I have and will accomplish, I couldn’t have done without my family, my friends and coaches. Even the parents giving me lifts to and from games, have helped me get where I am and I’m proud to be here. I used to beg my father for the newest keeper gloves, now I’m sponsored by Adidas, one of the greatest sports brands. I work with the best team of coaches, I have the best team mates and the best agents, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.’

I know Filip for quite some time now and he is one of the most humble and motivated persons I know, He is always nice and works hard to reach his goal, I can’t wait till Filip makes his debute in first team football and I really hope we will see a lot of him in the future. Want to follow Filip throughout his carreer? Give him a follow on Instagram!

Check the edits I made of Filip here, I already made a few edits of him before the interview 😉

I’m Joeri, I’m 21 a year old Dutch graphic designer and fourth year student of Media and Entertainment management. I've worked for Serie A and Eredivise players and also Dutch club; Willem II Tilburg, Forza Fodbold, VI Kids, Meet the Players and many more!

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Copyright

All designs uploaded to this website are created by myself. For the pictures I've used I am in the understanding that I am allowed to use them. I always try to find out the original photographer and contact him/her to ask for permission, Did I miss out on something or is there any picture you would like to get removed? Contact me and we'll handle this as soon as possible